Philly Future

September 30, 2005

Well, I done did it. I'm volunteering for Chuck Pennacchio. Specifically, I'm going to be doing blog coordination, what Tim Tagaris of The Swing State Project started doing as one of his many responsibilities at the start of Chuck's campaign. I've already started to contact the various blogs out there. I'm going to be keeping everyone up to date as to what's going on in the campaign from here in Philadelphia, basically, its HQ.

I've never taken on such an organizational responsibility before. I'm looking forward to meeting and e-meeting all these bloggers located all over the U.S. I've never been involved in a campaign in this manner before, but I feel that I have to be this involved. I think that it is just too important. For too long I was apathetic. I always voted, but that was it. I thought that was enough. Now, I think that's only a start. There's so much more to do. More to read. More to learn.

Today is the final day of fundraising for this quarter [I think that's what this unit of time is called] and I'll be phonebanking later tonight, calling on donors to give just a little bit more. In the last two weeks, Chuck's campaign has received donations in the amount of about $100 which is great. But that's not what we all have to give. $5 is $5 that the campaign didn't have five seconds ago. A donation of $17.76 is symbolic and $17.76 the campaign didn't have five seconds ago. The donations need not be large in amount, but they're not about to turn those away! Chuck is a candidate running for the people and by the people. He is not and will not take PAC money. His average donor will not be the full $2100 from people and groups with an agenda. His average donor will be giving under $100 from people who genuinely care and want to support a candidate they wholeheartedly support. People giving half a day's wage because it's that important. Donate here.

Two days ago, Chuck also came out against the nomination/confirmation of now Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. He said:

Consistent with the Bush Administration's "politics as usual" approach to all questions of governance, Judge Roberts went before the Senate Judiciary Committee intent on hiding his judicial philosophy from the Senate and the American people. This veiled and secretive approach to a matter as weighty as a lifelong appointment at the head of the Supreme Court is unacceptable.

Judge Roberts' nomination passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee without my having any new insight into how he would run the Court, or how he would approach critical constitutional questions, such as privacy rights, a women's right to choose, consumer rights, due process of law, equality before the law, and a host of other civil liberties issues.

One of his fellow candidates, Bob Casey Jr. has said that he would have voted for Roberts's confirmation. The Inky reported yesterday:

After considering factors such as character, resume and judicial philosophy, and listening to Roberts' testimony before the Judiciary Committee, "I would vote to confirm him," Casey said in a statement issued by his campaign.

Casey's decision erases a potential contrast with incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, who says he will vote for Roberts when the Senate takes up the nomination today. Roberts is expected to be confirmed.

But it puts Casey at odds with some of the same liberal interest groups that are actively working on his behalf, including the AFL-CIO and MoveOn.org, which sharply criticizes Roberts in one section of its Web site and seeks contributions for Casey in another.

It's not too late for the AFL-CIO and MoveOn.org to support Chuck Pennacchio. They did not know exactly how Casey would vote on things like this, now, they do. They can atone and get behind the right candidate in this state.

Casey's positions are closer to Santorum's than their campaign would like the people of Pennsylvania to believe. The people of Pennsylvania have to be informed of the differences between each of the candidates, including Libertarian John Featherman and Democratic candidate Alan Sandals. The DLC, that's you Rendell, Schumer and Reid, have decided to openly back Casey and Schumer has publicly stated that he'd rather not have contested primaries. I say bull-fucking-shit. We have to put up an opponent who stands in opposition to the incumbent Santorum. Casey cannot do that point to point to point. Chuck Pennacchio can and will.

For the people who read this blog on a daily basis and live in Pennsylvania and have been wavering as to whom to vote for in the Democratic primary [that is if you're a registered Democrat], know the facts. Casey's issues. Chuck's stances. Make an informed decision.

So it's is colder today than it has been in a long while. I saw yesterday that today's high was to be around 68° and I knew that it would be cold when I left the house this morning. So, before I left, I put on a windbreaker. I stepped outside. "Oh shit," I said to myself, "this ride's gonna be a cold one."

It seems as if the wind is always blowing against me no matter which direction I'm going. Add in a 10° drop since yesterday and me in shorts and you get one frozen biker.

But at the end of my ride, I bumped into Miss Plum who lives right by my workplace. We chatted for a sec, but she had to catch her train to work and I had to get to my desk. She did tell me some good news that Seuss just got a new gig which is pretty sweet. He's joining the ranks of the clan of book caretakers, slowly.

We were able to see Mooney because he was in the area for the 'New Scopes Trial' going on now in Harrisburg. I'll recap a few things he touched on in his short lecture.

Why is the Bush administration's stance on science unique
Mooney said that this not the first administration [nor will it be the last] to push and prod science to fit their needs, but this particular administration's efforts have been particularly egregious.
1. There are just so many testimonies from previous officials in previous administrations, Democratic and Republican. Russell Train served as EPA Administrator under Nixon and Ford and he said that the stuff that W's cronies are pulling right now would never have happened under his watch.

2. In recent political history, there have been so many flare ups. During Reagan's administration, they pushed their Star Wars [SDI] program. Their agenda against science used to be localized, now, it is vast.

3. Comparing and contrasting with Clinton's administration, there are more charges and the scope of the allegations against W and Co. are much greater and bigger in magnitude. Now, more credible scientists are coming on board in opposition to the president than against Clinton's administration. Mooney cited forty-eight Nobel laureates and 120+ members of the National Academy of Sciences have rebuked W and Co. [those numbers may be slightly off, he was talking quickly].

4. Historical trends. Big Business/Industry has attacked science more and more under W. There has been an incredible growth rate of political think tanks creating contrarians experts that the Right can use to go up against real scientists.

He also spoke of how the neo-Con Christians have a slicker way of saying things. They used to say that science is wrong and that their faith in God is all that matters. Now, they're saying that they have their own science and that it is simply better. For evolution, they counter with Intelligent Design. For stem cells research, they say that they are pro adult stem cell research. For sex ed, they preach that condoms are bad and unsafe and want abstinence-only programs taught to youth. The Right ahs created their own "shadow science" with their small group of experts to go up against 2000+ scientists who have publicly spoken out against this administration.

To put all of this into context of what's going on now, he brought up two examples, the memo W's administration discussed through the EPA where they tried to change climate studies. And then they said that scientists could not make any edits to the changes. The Union of Concerned Scientists no longer consider the EPA report to be scienctifically based.

Mooney also noted that the Intelligent Design debate has been philosophical in nature. I.D. debators claim that science encourages atheism by stating that the supernatural is not real. Mooney asked: Who is this Designer? Who designed the Designer? Why didn't the Designer design everything right the first time?

So what can we do? Mooney said that scientists are going to have to do more than just sign statements. They have to become more involved, get into the trenches. Universities with large science wings must be more vocal. Major research universities must use throw their weight behind the effort to promote science. He said that the chancellor of the University of Kansas has already taken a vocal role. Mooney also spoke of legislative action. He mentioned how the Office of Technology Assessment [OTA] was killed under the Gingrich era Repugs. The OTA used to have bi-partisan Congressional backing. Now, there are experts here and there that individual blocs call upon for the answers they want pushed. They go to the individuals with answers already in hand instead of looking for them. He said that Congress must take measures to protect the whistle blowers and agencies overlooking everything.

Mooney was asked what he thought of the media's coverage of science or lack thereof. He said that he's taken a lot of flack for being so hard on journalists today. He said that journalists are not being hard enough and not seeking out answers, but merely glancing over stories. He said that journalists should not be constructing debates on settled issues like global warming / climate change - it IS happening and there's no need to question it anymore or debate it. The experts the Right use are, for the most part, not published in peer-review journals he added.

When asked to comment on the Roberts confirmation, he said that he thinks we will see the topic of evolution brought back into the Supreme Court. But, he does not think that the 1982 7-2 decision for evolution will be overturned soon. There will have to be a few more Scalila's for that to happen he said. he said that he doesn't know how Roberts would vote on the issue.

After Mooney was finished, coreleus, came up from the back and tapped me on the shoulder, I thought he'd be there. We chatted for a bit, he had just returned from that Mercedes drivin', socialist, subsidy-addicted potato farmer country called Germany. He had a book in hand, he had already read it. I told him how I was wondering how old Mooney is and he said that he thinks Mooney graduated from college in 1998 which would make him about twenty-eight. I wasn't surprised that he was under thirty, he could easily pass as a freshman in college. I said how happy I was that a person who is so young is taken seriously by so many people. People who have been practicing science for probably longer than Mooney's been alive. It gives me hope. Graybeards can't be running everything.

The Friends Select has a full schedule of their book events. I'll probably be at the October 24th Alan Lee event. Yes, I'm a LOTR geek. No, I do not speak any Elvish languages. Yes, I own the entire trilogy extended edition DVD set.

An Air America spokesman said: "While we hate to lose affiliates, it is very common to add and drop affiliates due to local market conditions. While we hate to lose WHAT-AM, we are currently in negotiations with another station and hope to make that announcement soon."

I must say that the signal is for shit. Absolute shit. I listen to it solely via the Real stream from their website. I listen to it at work all day and when I get home for a couple of hours. The people I know here in Philly who listen to Air America Radio all listen to it via a stream or downloaded and listened to ad-free on their iPods.

I'm sad to see them leave the airwaves here, but maybe they'll be back in a different station with a better signal and a fuller lineup. I think that Al and Randi are good examples of what the network has to offer, but they do not represent the full gamut.

Air America Radio has grown from an initial five stations on March 31, 2004 to seventy stations today [sixty-nine as of Saturday the 1st].

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will begin banning imports of beluga caviar and other beluga products from the Caspian Sea on Friday, after caviar-exporting countries in the region failed to provide details of their plans to conserve the fish, which is listed internationally as a species threatened with extinction.

The United States consumes 60 percent of the world exports of beluga caviar, a $200-an-ounce delicacy that is considered the king of caviars. While osetra and sevruga caviars are consumed in far greater amounts in this country, beluga has long had unrivaled international cachet and commanded unrivaled prices.

I've had the unfortunate pleasure of having this so called delicacy. It tastes like shit. I really don't think that's a matter of opinion either. It just tastes like shit. I think the people who like it are just trying to impress people.

The WaPo has, on their front page, a live stream of the Senate's confirmation hearings on the nomination of John Roberts. I think the smarmy Trent Lott is speaking right now, the video is a tad jumpy, but the audio is very clear.

Giving all honor, thanks and praises to God for courage and wisdom, this is a very important rally. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, feelings and concerns regarding a tremendous problem that we are currently facing. This problem is universal, transcending race, economic background, religion and culture, and this problem is none other than the current administration which has set up shop in the White House.

In fact, I'd like to take some of these cats on a field trip. I want to get big yellow buses with no air conditioner and no seatbelts and round up Bill O'Reilly, Pat Buchanan, Trent Lott, Sean Hannity, Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Bush Jr. and Bush Sr., John Ashcroft, Giuliani, Ed Gillespie, Katherine Harris, that little bow-tied Tucker Carlson and any other right-wing conservative Republicans I can think of, and take them all on a trip to the hood.

Not to do no 30-minute documentary. I mean, I want to drop them off and leave them there, let them become one with the other side of the tracks, get them four mouths to feed and no welfare, have scare tactics run through them like a laxative, criticizing them for needing assistance.

Part speech, part spoken word. It was incredible. Matt even said to me at Drinking Liberally on Tuesday night that he's not the biggest fan of spoken word, but he still got into it bigtime. I'm not going to put Thomas on the same level of MLK Jr., but he was just an inredible public speaker. Coupled with the event being a peace/anti-war rally right on The National Mall, I immediately thought of MLK.

Got plans Friday night? How about doing some phonebanking for Chuck Pennacchio who is the only choice we have for US Senate in this state of Pennsylvania. Just two hours and they'll be giving us food and drinks! Shoot me an email or leave a comment with yours.

It'll be from about 6p to 8p right by Rittenhouse Square. Convenient, short and they're providing food and drinks. What more can you ask?